.NET Framework 3.0 RTM Posted

by Jonathan Allen on Nov 07, 2006 |

The RTM version of .NET 3.0 is available. This includes the redistributables and SDK for the Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

Despite what the name suggests, this is not a new runtime for .NET. For core functionality, it relies on the .NET 2.0 runtime and base class library. Essentially that means developers are deciding between 1.1., 2.0, and 2.0+3.0 for new projects.

The .NET 3.0 Redistributables package must be installed first. These are the same files that must be installed on servers and end-user machines.

Next is the Vista SDK. This includes .NET 3.0 documentation, samples, and development tools. Also included are Win32 header files, libraries, documentation, samples, and updated C++ compilers that target x86, x64, and IA64.

The release version of the Visual Studio 2005 Extensions for Windows Workflow Foundation is also available. This includes both a designer and a remote debugger.

The extensions for WCF and WPF are currently available as a CTP. According to Microsoft, "This is the last release of this technology that will be in the form of a set of extensions for Visual Studio 2005." Microsoft then goes on to explain that this functionality will be incorporated into the next version of Visual Studio.

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Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Floyd Marinescu Posted

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Todd P Posted

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Jonathan Allen Posted

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by James Vastbinder Posted

Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Floyd Marinescu

I heard some people at a recent conference talking about how for the first time, .NET will be available by default on Windows, specifically, .NET 3.0 on Vista. I wonder what the .NET community thinks the impact of this will be.

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Todd P

Didn't .Net 1.0 or 1.1 come installed on default Windows XP? (I don't remember, I know it's installed on XPSP2, but I'm pretty sure the first verison of XP came with some form of .NET.)

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Jonathan Allen

I cannot say in general, but my home computer is XP and it didn't have the 1.1 framework. It was a bit of a shock to me the first time I came across a 1.1 only application, as I had being using that machine with VS 2005 for months.

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by Jonathan Allen

The VB runtime came with some versions of Windows. But by the time we got to the point when just about everyone had that version and we could stop shipping the runtime, the next version of VB was released.

I see no reason to think the .NET runtimes will be any different, but at least now they are downloadable over the Internet.

Re: Is it a big deal that .NET 3.0 ships on Vista? by James Vastbinder

.NET version 1.1 came pre-installed on Windows Server 2003. That was the first OS MS shipped with the .NET Framework.

Vista will be the first client OS shipping with a .NET Framework as part of the image.